Tucson Joins Growing List of U.S. Cities Calling for Action on Global Warming

TUCSON, Ariz.— Tucson has joined cities such as Seattle, Wash.; Albany, N.Y.; and Boone, N.C., in urging the Obama administration and the Environmental Protection Agency to use the Clean Air Act to reduce carbon and other pollutants to address the increasingly urgent global climate crisis. By unanimously passing a resolution Tuesday night, the Tucson City Council joins the Center for Biological Diversity’s national Clean Air Cities campaign.

“I’m a mother of two young children and I want to respect and honor our land so future generations can enjoy it,” said Tucson City Councilor Regina Romero, sponsor of the resolution. “Arizona Governor Jan Brewer pulled us out of the Western Climate Initiative. Republicans in Congress are preventing federal legislation. So the Obama administration and the Environmental Protection Agency need to help us make the choices we know we need to make.”

“The Clean Air Act is the most important tool we have for curbing pollution and limiting global warming,” said Rose Braz, the Center’s climate campaign director. “Cities like Tucson are among those projected to be the hardest hit by global warming and thus have a special responsibility and opportunity to lead the way in finding solutions. By passing this resolution, Tucson joins a growing list of cities standing up to big polluters and calling for science-based limits on global warming pollution.”

The Center’s Clean Air Cities campaign is working around the country to encourage cities to pass resolutions urging national leaders to use Clean Air Act to reduce atmospheric carbon levels to no more than 350 parts per million, the level scientists say is needed to avoid catastrophic climate change. Seattle, Wash.; Albany, N.Y.; Boone, N.C.; and Arcata, Richmond, Berkeley, and Santa Monica, Calif., have also passed resolutions, and several other cities around the country will be considering similar resolutions over the next few months.

Global warming is projected to have serious impacts on the arid Southwest and Arizona in particular. Increased evaporation and changing weather patterns are expected to further threaten the state’s drinking-water supply. More heat waves and drier, hotter summers are expected to result in more wildfires and heat-related deaths and illnesses.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 320,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.